Fluffy Interruptions
by Woofemus
Summary: Maki and Hanayo adopt a dog, a white samoyed as fluffy as rice. Maki still has mixed feelings about it.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** done over on tumblr for the prompt: "(Domestic) MakiPana adopting a GIANT FRIENDLY SAMOYED WITH FUR AS WHITE AND FLUFFY AS RICE." Honestly, how could I resist. I hope you enjoy.

* * *

It was something that Maki didn't mind at first, and it had actually seemed like a good idea at the time. There were times where she worked long hours into the night and stumbled home only to find Hanayo already half-asleep and still waiting for her so she could start dinner. She always told Hanayo she didn't have to wait and sometimes she did but most of the time, she waited for Maki to come home instead.

When Rin revealed that one of her relatives had a dog that they couldn't take care of anymore because they were moving, Maki had caught the way Hanayo's eyes lit up for a quick moment before dimming down, glancing at Maki nervously. Rin leaned forward as well, giving Maki the same pleading look. Maki gave her a kick under the table before turning back to see the same look on Hanayo's face. Unlike Rin, she felt a pang inside her chest.

"… we can at least go see it?" Maki offered, hoping she didn't sound too defeated. Hanayo smiled widely at that and Maki had to look away, pointedly ignoring Rin's knowing smile.

And Maki _knew_ , the moment they saw the fluffy white dog bounding over to them, that there was _no_ going back, especially when the first thing Hanayo did was let out a gasp of surprised happiness and immediately bent down to ruffle the dog. And as Maki looked at the dog tag with his name on it, she realized there was no better dog in the world that was meant for Hanayo.

"Are you ready to be brushed aside?" Rin teased from where they both stood aside watching Hanayo and the dog immediately take to each other. Maki turned to her, entirely unamused.

… she didn't realize how true that would be.

"You're such a good boy, aren't you?" Hanayo grinned as she played with his ears, rubbing her nose with him and laughing when he tried to lick her face. His tail thumped furiously against the floor as he whined.

Maki tore her eyes away, trying to fight against the frown on her face. She wasn't jealous, _she wasn't jealous._

"Maki-chan?" She glanced up from the dog to Hanayo who was now looking at her worriedly. She waved for Hanayo come next to her. When she did, Maki reached over and wrapped her arms around Hanayo's middle. She couldn't help the tiny smirk that broke out of her as she stared down at the dog, who was now watching them curiously instead.

Hanayo let out a gasp, blinking down. "Ah… sorry, Maki-chan, I haven't been paying a lot of attention to you, have I?" She raised her hands and put them on top of Maki's head, petting her softly instead.

Maki narrowed her eyes, unable to shake the feeling that _she_ ended up being the substitute for the dog instead. She tugged on Hanayo, pulled her down until they were sitting together on the sofa. Hanayo laughed softly at the small pout on Maki's face as Maki pulled her closer, their legs touching now.

"Hanayo–oof!"

And Maki looked down with a scowl when she realized the dog had jumped on the couch and had flopped himself in all his splendor onto their laps, tilting his head as far back as he could to peer up at them. Unable to resist any longer, Hanayo reached out, running her hands all over his head and cooing again. "Ah, you're just so _fluffy!_ " He answered her back with a loud bark, wagging his tail furiously.

Maki sputtered to herself, trying to get the fur out of her mouth as she felt the tail repeatedly smack her in the face.

* * *

There were some moments that didn't seem so bad.

When Maki came home, there was loud pop music playing throughout the house. She took off her shoes, putting on slippers before going to the living room, where the source of all the noise was at.

There, Hanayo was listening to one of her concert DVDs for one of her favorite idols, singing along with the music. Besides her was their dog, excitedly dancing all around as he howled with her. Hanayo's face cracked into a large grin as she stopped singing and listened to him howl and bark to the catchy music instead. She clapped along with the music, trying to give him cues.

"Yeah, just like that, there you go! And then you—M-Maki-chan!?"

Maki glanced up and tried not to laugh at Hanayo's completely mortified expression, realizing she was caught now. She couldn't help the amused smile on her face, trying not to laugh as she gestured to the TV where there was nothing but sparkling lights and dancing idols. "Your favorite part of the song is coming up."

"H-huh?!" Hanayo spun back around, glancing at the screen. "Oh!" She turned to look down at the floor where their dog was but he was already bounding over to his other owner, happily barking in her face in his own rhythm that was entirely different than the music playing in the background.

Despite the tiredness Maki felt, she shook her head in exasperatedly fondness before making her way over to them, Hanayo beaming at her and their dog cheerfully yipping.

* * *

It wasn't always like that though.

"I'm ho–gah!"

"Welcome back!" Hanayo called back out automatically before blinking to herself, realizing Maki's greeting turned into a loud shout. Turning the heat lower on the stove, she had a suspicion she knew why, when she couldn't find Gohan sleeping on the couch as he normally was.

When she looked into the hallway, Maki was face down on the floor and there he was, nothing but a giant ball of fluff sitting on top of her, barking in victory.

"Ah…" Hanayo rushed forward, urging their dog off of Maki and trying to calm him down.

Maki raised her head back up with a pained expression. "Thanks."

* * *

And there were times where Maki had to finally put her foot down.

"No, he's not allowed on the bed! Do you know how much fur we had that other time!?"

"… we managed to get it all out, didn't we?" Hanayo argued weakly.

"But it's not like I want to do it _again._ "

The whining and barking stopped, realizing he wasn't going to move either of his owners. Maki turned back to Hanayo with a raised brow.

"You spoil him too much," she said with a sigh.

"I can't help it! He's just… he's…" Hanayo pointed with a helpless look on her face. Maki had to resist the _both_ of them, knowing he was giving her the same look Hanayo was.

"… he needs to get groomed again," she muttered. Hanayo understood, patting her hand before standing up to lead the dog away, gently coaxing him back outside the bedroom.

"N-next time," she promised, ruffling his head affectionately before closing the door.

Maki pushed down the feeling of guilt rising in her and flopped ungracefully onto the bed with a huff instead, knowing if she saw either of their pleading expressions, she'd cave immediately. Hanayo came back, sitting down next to her.

"Did… did you not want to have the dog after all?" she asked in a quiet voice. Maki rolled over, frowning. Hanayo wasn't looking at her, her eyes on her hands twisting nervously in her lap. "It was… my idea in the first place and if… if you don't want… him then…"

"Hey!" Maki interrupted, sighing afterward and reached out, fumbling for Hanayo's hand. "I never said that, stop assuming it's something only you wanted. I just… I just wasn't expecting him to be so… uh, _friendly._ "

"He… he _is_ a lot more… nicer than I thought he'd be," Hanayo mumbled with a quick giggle. "As expected of Rin-chan to find a dog like that for us."

"… _of course_ she would," Maki said with a roll of her eyes before letting out a yawn.

"O-oh! Are you tired?" Hanayo peered down at her, brushing back her bangs.

"A little." Maki reached up, wrapping her arms around Hanayo and tugging her down to the bed.

"M-Maki-chan!"

"Only for a few minutes, okay," she murmured sleepily, already dozing off in the comfort of Hanayo's warmth. Hanayo quietly laughed before raising her hand to gently thread through Maki's hair, humming softly. Within minutes, Maki's body completely relaxed and she was out, her grip on Hanayo slack, exactly what Hanayo wanted.

Though the temptation to stay and give into Maki's indulgence was strong, she carefully eased herself out instead, creeping toward the door. She opened it, just a brief inch, and sneaked back to bed, settling herself down against Maki and closed her eyes.

When Maki woke up, she was _warm._ Blinking groggily she turned her head to the side. Hanayo was dozing against her shoulder, drooling lightly as she mumbled to herself. It made Maki smile, raising her other hand so she could brush against Hanayo's hair.

Except she realized there was something on _that_ side too, something soft and _fluffy_ , _very_ familiar.

Maki turned her head and found their dog next to her, resting his head upon her arm. He opened his eyes, staring straight at her. He began to wag his tail furiously, slapping it against Maki's leg. Craning her head, she noticed the door was ajar and not closed as she remembered it was.

Sighing as she let her head loll to the other side on top of Hanayo's head, she tried not to think about the fur that was no doubt already on their bed. Despite how she felt about it though, there was no denying that she felt _incredibly_ comfortable. Still, she couldn't help but whisper petulantly, "I told you you spoil him too much."

The only answer she received was a quiet mumble about rice.

* * *

There were some periods of time where they had silent agreements with each other.

The day was cold and gloomy, as expected with the rain outside. It didn't help that the house currently had one less occupant than it normally had.

Maki looked up from the book she was reading, glancing out the window. Hanayo was gone for the weekend, gone with her parents to visit some relatives in another city. And unfortunately, none of their other friends were free (except Rin apparently still had the time to send her constant _'this is your chance to bond with the riceball! :DDD'_ messages.)

She looked down, to where the dog was laying his head by her feet. When he noticed he had her attention, he peered up at her, wagging his tail. Maki noticed it wasn't as excitedly as he did for Hanayo though. She glanced around again before sighing loudly, patting her lap. "C'mon, I guess."

At those words, he instantly sat up, tilting his head to look at her. She patted her lap again before patting the couch afterward. He finally understood and leaped, landing half on the couch and half in her lap. "Oof!" He settled his head in her lap, whining softly afterward. She petted him absently, lightly scratching behind his ears as she returned to reading her book.

Maybe he wasn't so bad, Maki was beginning to think.

* * *

But sometimes… _sometimes…_

It was normal that Maki always woke up earlier than Hanayo. Even during her days off, there no stopping what had become so routine and come a certain time, she would groggily wake even if there was no alarm to help her.

The one benefit of this was that Hanayo was still dead asleep. Despite not wanting to move at all, she made an exception here, scooting closer to Hanayo and burying her face into her lover's hair. Within seconds, she felt herself getting drowsy again and she gladly let sleep take her away.

Some time later, Maki woke up again, feeling a lot more refreshed than she was the first time. This time, Hanayo was closer than before, tucked under her chin, using Maki's arm as a pillow as she cuddled with one of the many plushies on their bed.

Maki smiled indulgently as she pulled herself as close she could, nuzzling against the warm body in her arms. Hanayo twitched but did nothing much, letting out a soft sigh. Maki couldn't help the lazy smile as she slipped her hands underneath Hanayo's pajama top, kneading the soft flesh there. Hanayo shifted slightly again. "Maki-chan?" she murmured, her voice thick with sleep.

Maki leaned forward, pressing her mouth to Hanayo's neck, murmuring against it. "Mm?" Hanayo let out a quiet gasp. She raised her hand instead, moving it to brush back the hair on her neck, easily exposing more of her skin. Maki pressed a soft kiss against the pulse there as she pulled Hanayo's shirt up, letting her fingers trail against her skin. Hanayo inhaled sharply and squirmed slightly, eyes fluttering but not quite open though she was much more awake now.

"A-ah… M-Maki-chan, w-wait, did you hear som–" and whatever words she tried to get out became lost in a moan when Maki moved her other hand downward, slipping underneath her pants.

Hanayo moved her hand again, letting it tangle into Maki's unruly hair. Finally opening her eyes, she turned her head up. She tried to urge Maki down–she suddenly furrowed her brow in realization and snapped her head back forward. Maki felt all of Hanayo's body tense up. It made her pause, frowning slightly as she followed her gaze.

And there was their dog, resting his head on top of their bed as he stared at them.

Hanayo let out a yelp and turned bright red, immediately pulling her shirt back down. Maki was still too frozen to move, mind blank at the thought of being caught.

"Oh gosh, it's… it's like… um, doing it in front of our _child_ ," Hanayo squeaked out before covering her red face with her hands and turned around, trying to hide herself within Maki's chest. Maki blinked down at her before slowly turning to the dog again. Realizing he had at least one owner's attention on him, he flattened his ears against his head, wagging his tail even harder and letting out a soft whine.

 _Now,_ Maki was beginning to regret this decision.


	2. Chapter 2

For a good amount of Maki's life, she often wondered what she would be doing in the future. There was absolutely no doubt that she would go into medicine, her parents had made sure of that. Her end destination had already seemed set for her.

Along the way though, something changed. For one reason or another, she was persuaded into joining an _idol_ group, of all things, and found herself taking it far too seriously than she thought she would. She performed in front of people, always making sure to keep a smile on, practiced until she couldn't even lift a bone in her body, stayed up late into the night composing songs instead of studying.

It... it was fun, she was realized. But there was also no doubt that the reason it was so fun was because of the people who made up µ's.

She had resigned herself to endless amounts of studying and thought friends would have no place. She would have no time for anything considered normal for high school studies, sticking her nose into the books and going to cram school. Instead, Maki met people she didn't think she would ever meet, becoming lifelong friends with them in the process. It surprised her how natural she had come to regard her friends as, well, friends.

And, over time, she had even come to regard one of her friends as someone... much more precious. It was a long and arduous process that Maki could say (with the added bonus of hindsight) was made infinitely more complicated because of her stubborn self. With the help of her other friends though (however much she was loathe to admit their involvement at times simply because of how much she had made a fool of herself at their suggestions), Maki had managed to push past the fear of rejection and (awkwardly) confessed her feelings. It was with the greatest joy that she discovered her feelings were reciprocated as well, and Maki never forgot the way Hanayo smiled so brightly at her.

Hanayo... was a constant source of strength, always quietly encouraging her even when Maki felt herself backed into a wall with deadline after deadline, exams on top of exams, hours all mixing into each other that she didn't even know where her days went anymore. Maki was ashamed to admit that sometimes she took it for granted, feeling like what she did in return for Hanayo paled in comparison to everything Hanayo had done for her. She couldn't have asked for anyone more understanding, more patient, more wonderful than Hanayo.

And now, after so many years later, she was finally an accomplished doctor in her own right, with Hanayo at her side. And also, she was in dire need of a vacation. Hanayo proposed visiting her grandparents in the countryside, and Maki agreed all too easily, ready for a change of pace.

... except her change of pace came with her sprinting as fast as she could down their expansive yard, shrieking for dear life as their terror of a dog chased after her with a running hose in his mouth.

She turned to see where Hanayo was-a blast of cold water hit her dead on in the face. Nearly falling but managing to right herself in time, she whipped her head away, sputtering and still running, zigzagging all over. "H-Hanayo! Gohan, stop- _Hanayo!"_

Unbeknownst to the chaos happening behind her, Hanayo only continued to hum softly to herself as she tended to the flowers in the garden. Maki hoped establishing a direct line of sight with Hanayo would aid in her telepathic messages for help. Unfortunately, the water spraying at her face deterred her from trying too long. And, the more she ran, she farther away she was getting from Hanayo.

But, the length of the hose wasn't infinite! With how far Maki had run out, there had to be an end in sight. Banking on that to get her hopes up, Maki continued to run as hard as she could and zigzagging back and forth so her dog couldn't crash into her and knock her down. Even as her legs and lungs burned for her to stop, even knowing that their dog was only chasing after Maki simply because she was running, she stayed moving.

She could do this, she had been through worse. Even with the occasional jet of water hitting her, she was doing good, just a little more-

Maki felt the pebble under her shoe, felt her feet kicking out from under her, felt nothing but _sheer panic_ as she saw the ground rushing up at her-

She crashed to the ground. Thankfully, _thankfully,_ she managed to land on the grass and not the rough dirt. Not that it didn't hurt like hell though.

Except now her dog was in her face, spraying water at her. She desperately reached out, wrestling the hose from her dog. He quickly ran away as soon as she pointed the hose at him, barking loudly. Within several seconds though, the water flow began to lessen before stopping completely. Maki looked up and found Hanayo waving at her across the field, a camera in her hands.

Here was Maki Nishikino, utterly soaked because of her dog and sitting in the middle of a field with a hose in her hands, wondering exactly when and how her life came to be like this.

* * *

"I'm home!"

It was like everything happened in slow motion, as Hanayo watched Gohan barrel straight out of her arms. Maki snapped her head up, normal expression transforming into one of confusion before finally settling on horror upon realizing what was about to happen.

The both of them were too slow too react, as their dog rushed toward Maki.

Even with the impending sense of danger, Maki couldn't help but think he looked like an oddly stretched piece of mochi-

He barreled straight into her, knocking all wind out of her and pushing her down against the wall, eagerly licking at her face afterward.

Hanayo rushed over, pulling him back, trying not to laugh when he turned to lick at her face as well, too excited to care anymore.

"I... I still need to get used to that," Maki could only say dazedly afterward, groaning.

* * *

"Maki-chan, Maki-chan!" Hanayo came running into the bedroom, excitedly bouncing on her feet. Maki put her book down, looking up at her. "Look, look!" Hanayo gestured to the door. Maki already knew what to expect when she saw their dog standing there, waiting outside. When he noticed Maki's attention was on him, his ears went flat against his head, his body shaking as he wagged his tail.

Hanayo called out, "Do you want to come in?"

Nothing happened. Maki looked at Hanayo with a raised brow. Hanayo tried once more. "Gohan, want to come in?"

Their dog hesitantly stepped forward until he was exactly right at the invisible line that separated the bedroom from the hallway. He moved his head upward and opened his mouth-

Maki narrowed her eyes just as Hanayo giggled. "W-wait, what was that?"

Hanayo laughed and skipped over to the entrance. Maki slowly trailed after her, watching them in bewilderment. "Gohan, again!" Hanayo shouted with a clap of her hands. He looked at her before making the same sound once more, a soft cry.

"Woo woo."

Hanayo let out a gleeful squeal and he took that as his affirmative to come right in, bounding straight into Hanayo's waiting arms. Maki was still staring, stunned, before she shook her head in exasperation, reaching out to ruffle his head.

* * *

Hanayo... was being extra affectionate today, nipping along Maki's neck. Hanayo was warm where she was on top of Maki as well, adding to her contentedness. Maki certainly wasn't complaining, especially as she felt her neck being nuzzled. Hanayo had always indulged whenever Maki got in these moods and it was only fair for Maki to return the favor.

Hanayo's nose touched her neck, leaving trails of wetness.

Oh. _Oh._

Maki jolted awake from her nap on the couch. She didn't open her eyes though, groaning once she realized exactly what was going on. She pushed Gohan away from her face, rolling over and hiding it from receiving more licking. He whined, nudging her back with his nose.

When she felt him move away, Maki rolled onto her back, turning her head to look at him. Gohan let out a bark, putting a paw on her arm. He whined again, looking at her pleadingly.

Maki rolled her eyes, letting out a loud sigh before she made herself comfortable. After she did, she patted her chest. Gohan eagerly took the invitation, jumping up onto the couch. She patted her chest again and he laid himself against her, fluffy fur all in Maki's face. She sighed, absently raising her hand to scratch at his head as he settled against her.

It was comfortable, she had to admit. She couldn't quite go back to sleep so easily after jolting awake but she was more than content to just lay there, especially with a heavy mass of fluff on top of her. It was getting just a little bit too warm though.

She looked down, watching Gohan sleep. If she had to move, she would wake him. However mixed her feelings were about this dog, she would still feel more than guilty waking him up.

So she stayed there, even when the urge to shift and change position became stronger and stronger. "He'll get off soon enough," she grumbled, still absently patting his body. She closed her eyes, too content to move now.

The front door rattled.

In an instant, Gohan snapped awake, knocking his head against her jaw. Maki yelped in pain but before she could recover, he immediately kicked off of her full force, barking loudly and rushing away. Seconds later, the front door opened and Hanayo's voice rang out.

"I'm back!"

Maki answered back with a weak shout, curling into herself to soothe the pain.

Never mind her mixed feelings, she still hated this dog.

* * *

"Okay, really though, did we need _more_?" Maki couldn't help but ask as she looked down at the puppies sprawled all across her legs. Gohan had claimed the outside of her right leg for himself, laying against it with his back. On top of both her leg and him was a puppy using them as a pillow, snoring away. With all the other puppies spread across her legs, it looked as if she had an extra fluffy white rug covering her. It certainly felt like it.

Hanayo giggled, shifting slightly to lean closer to Maki from where they sat on the floor, leaning against their sofa. The puppy in her lap moved as well, scooting forward onto Maki's leg and falling asleep once more. "But they're so cute!" Hanayo said.

Maki looked down at the puppies, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "... maybe," she grudgingly said, reaching down to scratch the ear of the puppy now in her lap. Hanayo giggled again, giving a small pat to Maki's arm.

However much Maki had protested, there was absolutely no doubt that Hanayo had utterly fallen in love with these puppies. If Hanayo was happy, Maki was also more than happy, however much she thought otherwise when she had been woken up to the shrill cries of helpless puppies in the past few weeks. They were only lucky they were cute.

One of them let out a yawn, opening its mouth widely and letting out a little cry as well before settling back down, pushing against her leg with its _delightfully_ _soft_ paws.

... they were horrifically cute.

Maki bent down, pressing a soft kiss to the top of Hanayo's head. Too exhausted to even move away, she rested their heads together. She moved her hand and laid it on top of Hanayo's, their fingers tangled together as they both softly petted the puppy in their lap.

"There's... too much for us to take care of," Hanayo spoke up then, voice quiet. Maki pushed her lips together before sighing again.

"Yeah," she only said, trying to push down the painful pang that hit her when she thought about not even having one of these puppies in the house. She didn't want to think about that right now though, not with all of them sleeping so peacefully. "We'll... we'll figure that out." Hanayo nodded, her hair tickling Maki's cheek. Maki closed her eyes, a content smile gracing her lips.

Her phone on the couch behind them buzzed at that moment. Maki didn't even need to look to know who the message was from. There was only _one_ person who it could even be, when Hanayo had revealed to their friends about their new fluffy riceball additions. Instead, she let the quiet sounds of her new family lull her away to sleep.

"We're... we're gonna all keep all of them," she mumbled, too tired to realize what she was saying. "I'm never letting go of them... ever... I refuse to give one to Eli..." she trailed off, snoring lightly now.

Hanayo laughed, wondering exactly when Maki would realize she was the one who was more attached to their child and grandpuppies.

* * *

 **A/N** : this second part exists because I keep getting sent dog videos. Thank you for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N** : done for a prompt on tumblr where Gohan was also requested and I figured I might as well post it up here too. No real updating schedule to this honestly, just if and whenever I feel like writing more or it gets requested on tumblr.

* * *

It was well into the night when Hanayo abruptly stood up and announced, "I want some cookies." Maki blinked up at her before she looked back down at her arms as if to tell herself that yes, Hanayo was no longer in them.

And now Hanayo was off to the kitchen, gathering up the ingredients she needed. The sudden scratching against their hardwood floor meant Gohan had woken up as well, eagerly following after Hanayo into the kitchen.

With her cuddle partners gone now, Maki stood up and yawned loudly as she stretched, shuffling her way to the kitchen afterward. She went over to where Hanayo was and leaned against her, sleepily mumbling. Hanayo giggled, playfully tapping her nose before returning to mixing together the butter and sugars.

"Don't we have an electric mixer somewhere?" Maki asked, glancing around the kitchen.

"I forgot where we put it and I was already pouring everything into the bowl before I remembered." Hanayo let out another laugh, sheepish this time. Maki sighed, shaking her head. "Can you get the rest of the ingredients, Maki-chan? Um…" Pausing from her stirring, she reached over to grab her phone on the counter. "Here's the exact measurements of everything."

Maki read through the list several times before she finally nodded and regretfully pulled away from Hanayo. She couldn't stay too sad though, not when Hanayo smiled gratefully at her and leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek. Feeling slightly rejuvenated now, Maki gathered up the dry ingredients and mixed them into another bowl before setting them aside.

"Done!" she called out as soon as she finished.

"Can you see if we still have any chocolate chips? I remember we had some but I'm not sure."

"Yeah, I'll find them." The brief energy spurt from earlier wore off now, and she lazily searched through their cabinets, muffling yawns behind her hand. It took her longer than she expected but eventually, she found a ziplocked bag of chocolate chips. She opened it and reached inside, grabbing a chocolate chip to inspect.

It… it looked normal, and it didn't smell… like not chocolate either. She wasn't sure how long they had this bag since Hanayo was usually the one that baked and knew how old things were, but it had been a while since Hanayo baked as well. There was one more thing she could do…

Shrugging to herself, Maki popped the chocolate chip into her mouth. It tasted normal enough, the dark chocolate just barely sweet. Another one wouldn't hurt. She put another one into her mouth. And another.

The sudden feeling that she was being stared at made her stop. Maki looked down, and Gohan's pleading eyes met hers, his ears flat against his head.

"No," she said, reaching into the bag to eat another chocolate chip. He lowered his head and scooted closer, still looking up at her. "No," she said again, putting the chocolate chip into her mouth.

Ignoring her words as he always did, he scooted closer, and closer still, until he was all but leaning against her leg. Maki frowned at him. She leaned down, reaching out to pet his head as she spoke again, her voice softer. "I meant no, you can't eat this, because you'll get sick and make us—er, Hanayo sad."

"… and you'll make a nasty mess," she muttered.

Gohan eagerly wagged his tail, his whole body shaking with anticipation. "No!"

She stood back up and ate more chocolate chips. Gohan scooted closer still and he was practically sitting on her foot now. Still, she refused to relent. This wasn't even something he could eat! He had accidentally gotten chocolate so many times and they had all paid the consequences for it! Why didn't he understand that?

"Maki-chan, where's the chocolate chips?" Hanayo called out. Maki froze, her hand halfway into the bag. "Maki-chan?"

"A-ah, right here!" Maki handed over the bag, panic shooting through her when she realized it felt lighter than when she pulled it out. Hanayo took the bag, blinking confusedly at it.

"Huh… I thought we had more… maybe I used too much last time."

"I-I'll buy some next time," Maki quickly said. Hanayo nodded and returned back to the cookie batter, pouring the chocolate chips inside. Maki let out a sigh of relief, she and their dog went to stand on either side of Hanayo. Maki reached out—and yelped when Hanayo swatted her hand away.

"Maki-chan, you can't eat the batter! That's how you'll get sick."

Maki frowned, wondering why this conversation suddenly seemed familiar. "It just always smells so good," she said instead, sullen at being caught. As she looked at Hanayo's face though, she realized she still had a chance. She reached out quickly, swiping some of the batter on Hanayo's cheek and put her finger into her mouth before Hanayo could protest.

"M-Maki-chan!" Hanayo pouted at her, a tinge of pink on her face.

"Delicious," Maki only said, smiling cheekily.

"And I was going to let you have the rest of the chocolate chips, but now…"

Maki widened her eyes with realization. Hanayo slipped away from her with a giggle, reaching down to pet Gohan on the head before continuing on her way to get the cookie pans. He let out a whine, tapping his paws excitedly against the floor. "If you help me with the baking sheets, I'll let you have them."

With a tiny smile, Maki shook her head, helping Hanayo shape the cookies onto the baking sheet. The batter was still just as tantalizing as ever but Maki held back.

"Ah!"

Maki looked down at her hand, realizing Hanayo had accidentally gotten some of the dough onto it. Before she could clean it off though, Hanayo leaned down and licked it up. Maki froze, unable to do anything but gawk and turn redder and redder as Hanayo cleaned up the dough on her hands. When she was done, Hanayo straightened herself back up, gave her the same cheeky smile Maki had done despite the blush on her cheek, and went back to shaping the cookies, even humming a tune.

Maki let out a shaky breath before going back to the dough, trying to calm herself down.

Once they finished setting down the batter onto the sheets, Maki turned to the oven. When he realized neither of them was going to pay him any attention, Gohan had made himself comfortable in front of the oven door, laying down and staring up at them. He made no motion to move even when Maki came over and began to nudge him with her foot.

He made a sound that sounded like a refusal, wagging his tail. "Oh come on!" She bent down to push her hands against him, trying to make him move from the oven door himself before she had to. He refused to budge, whining loudly and trying to push _her_ away with his paws. "If you're not going to helpful, don't be in the kitchen!"

"Maki-chan, Gohan." Hanayo stood over them, a disapproving frown on her face. The both of them immediately stopped and guiltily looked down at the floor, Gohan letting out a whimper before he finally scurried away. Hanayo smiled then, opening the oven and sliding in the first cookie pan. Maki pushed herself up to grab the second pan, putting it underneath the first rack.

"Ten minutes," Hanayo said, adjusting the timer on the counter. "There!"

Maki stared at the oven, tapping her fingers impatiently against her arm. Now that she had smelled the batter earlier and the scent of cookies was starting to fill their home, the craving Maki didn't even know she had was growing by the second. Wasn't Hanayo the one who wanted cookies?

"Maki-chan!" She looked up—and the bag of chocolate chips hit her in the face. "Here you go. We don't have that much anyway." Hanayo opened the bag and reached in, grabbing a handful and putting a few into her mouth to eat.

An idea came to Maki.

Hanayo put the rest of the chocolates into her mouth. Maki waited a few seconds before she swooped in, capturing Hanayo's lips. Taking advantage of Hanayo's gasp of surprise, she swept her tongue into Hanayo's mouth, taking in the taste of chocolate. She pulled away afterward, licking her lips with a satisfied smile.

Maki opened her mouth, to say something she knew would be embarrassingly cheesy like Hanayo tasting good with the chocolate but what came out instead was, "I love you."

Hanayo's eyes widened, her whole face turning increasingly redder than before. She leaned forward, against Maki, hiding her face from sight now. "T-that's not fair, saying something like that right now."

Maki couldn't even say anything, not when she was also more than embarrassed at herself as well. All she could do was wrap her arms around Hanayo and laugh slightly in their shared embarrassment.

Hanayo pulled away slightly, to set the bag of chocolate chips on top of the counter before turning back to Maki. She wrapped her arms around Maki's neck and pushed down lightly. Slightly confused, Maki slowly lowered herself to the floor, sitting down with her legs spread out and Hanayo inbetween them.

"Really? R-right now? We're not going to remember our cookies." Despite her words, Maki's lips were twitching upward. Hanayo only smiled at her, moving to brush back Maki's bangs.

"But you were the one who started everything!" Hanayo pouted at her before she began to lean forward. Maki's eyes slowly closed. "And it'll be fine," Hanayo whispered.

And Maki felt herself being pushed away. In the next second, a furry body all but tackled her down onto the floor, with wet tongue that was decidedly _not_ Hanayo's attacking her face and slobbering all over her. Maki yelped and sputtered, quickly pulling back and covering her face. Gohan whined loudly as he followed after her, trying to nudge apart her hands with his wet nose. Hanayo stood over them, grinning as she laughed.

"Because Gohan won't let us forget," she said cheerfully.


End file.
